Three Month Update

This whole “getting back to work” thing has somewhat stunted my attempts to keep Tate’s Space updated! However, it feels good to do something for myself a few days a week (I consider working to be doing something for myself!) and contributing to our family finances again. Sarah is working out beautifully as our helper; Tate seems to enjoy being with her, and the time she spends at our home allows me to work on a part-time basis.

In the meantime, our sweet boy has hit three months! Happy Three-Month Birthday, Tate!

What’s changed in the past month? Well, you’ve continued to grow and grow and grow. You put weight on your legs and love being upright. In fact, we decided to go ahead and get you an exersaucer so that you can bounce around in it (or at least hang out in there) while sitting up like a big boy. It should be here tomorrow and I can’t wait for you to try it out! You sat in a bouncy swing over at your cousins’ house this week and seemed to think it was pretty nifty.

You’re newest thing is chewing—you chew on your fingers, the nipple of your bottle, and occasionally on mommy! I can’t quite figure out what this is all about. Part of me wonders if you may be teething. That sounds crazy for a three-month-old, but apparently your Aunt Lauren had four teeth by four months!!! Oh my goodness! CeCe says it’s because you want a steak. She’s teasing of course, but she did suggest that I consider giving you some rice cereal soon. I want to talk to your pediatrician about that, since it’s too early (I think!) for you to be eating solid foods just yet. You do show an interest in people eating though, following the food from the plate to our mouths and smacking your lips. Who knows, maybe some rice cereal isn’t such a bad idea.

Getting you on a sleep schedule seems to be a gradual process. You’re still so young that I hate leaving you to cry in a crib. I know, I know—it’s best for you to get used to a routine that involves soothing yourself to sleep, and I need to toughen up and learn to let you cry sometimes. But at three months, I don’t think you’re quite capable yet of soothing yourself, so more often than not you’re still falling asleep on mommy or in a swing or in the car. I’m working on figuring out whether you seem to have a natural sleep pattern and have been writing down your nap times so that I can keep track of them over the past few days. Hopefully between now and four months we’ll work out a regular nap schedule for you and be on our way toward better sleep habits!

There’s been a dramatic change in your level of interaction with us this month. Just in the past week or so, you’ve really started to consistently laugh and grin and engage with us when we’re talking to you. One of your favorite times of day is first thing in the morning, when you wake up with a smile all cuddly and sweet. You love getting changed now, and will grin up at me from the changing table and laugh if I tickle your tummy. It’s the best thing in the world to see that smile!

Three months of wonderful…I can’t wait to see what four months brings.